Well, in a nutshell, I enjoyed it, but also felt it was a bit of a missed opportunity.  Many aspects were well done.  While occasionally the CGI didn’t quite hold up, the costume I’d been very sceptical of did look brilliant on the big screen.  I did love the way the green energy underneath it would flare up as Hal focused his willpower into the ring.  That did look really neat.   Likewise the way the constructs were realised looked nice, although with the things like flamethrowers and the gattling gun, I’d have preferred the fire, or shell casings to be energy as well (maybe they tried it and it didn’t look right?).

All the stuff on Oa we got glimpses of in the trailers looked brilliant.  I loved all the weird and wonderful alien Lanterns we got, and as a fan of the comics, there was a lot of fun to be had seeing who I could recognise.   The training scene with Hal, Tomar Re, Kilowog and Sinestro was a real high point of the film.  My only real complaint was the Oa stuff we saw in the trailer was pretty much all there really was in the film.

Blake Lively as Carol Ferris really impressed me as well.  To me she seemed to have jumped straight out of the comics, and loved her interactions with Hal.  It really makes me hope we get a sequel with a sapphire ring at one point so we can really build on her character.

As for villains, I was surprised by the liberties taken with Parallax, and yet it really worked for me as a way to bring him to the big screen.  Despite never being named in the film, the rogue Guardian Krona being infected by the yellow energy to become Parallax worked well (and isn’t too far from assuming he was just possessed by the yellow space bug of the comics).  When Parallax would open his giant mouth full of razor sharp teeth it really reminded me of when he would do the same thing in the comics.   While many will no doubt have issues with him becoming a Galactus-esque giant space cloud, I personally thought it worked much better here than in the Fantastic 4, as Parallax still had a face and voice, and therefore more of a personality as a villain (even if that personality does largely consist of “Rar!  Kill Green Lanterns! Rar!”).  Hector Hammond, while again getting a bit of a pasting in the online reviews, I quite enjoyed.

Although its with Hector that one of my big problems of the film comes forward.  I just think it was trying to do too much.  Honestly, I felt there was some good stuff in the film, and yet it all got a bit muddled.   For me, and possibly this is just as a fan of the comics, I felt the film was strongest during Hal’s trip to Oa, with its weird aliens and embracing the Corps, it brought something different to the glut of Superhero movies we’ve had, and if it had continued down this path into something Star Wars-esque it could’ve been brilliant.  Instead, Hal’s on Oa for at most half an hour, before deciding to quit the Corps in a scene that didn’t quite click.  After seeing some of the trailers focus on this segment in the film over the last month or two, I suspect the studio probably realised this was the strongest segment as well, and its a real missed opportunity that it wasn’t expanded and the threat of Parallax to Earth just dropped in favour of him heading straight to Oa.

While I can understand that there may have been the desire to keep the film grounded on Earth, I can’t help but feel it resulted in the two aspects of the film fighting and both being less as a result.   I could’ve equally been happy with the film focusing on Hal getting the ring, and then the threat of Hector Hammond.  It would’ve allowed them to delve further into the relationship between Hector, Hal and Carol and the aspect of rivalry between Hector and Hal that’s only hinted at in the film.   The larger threat of Parallax and the reveal of the Corps and Oa, could’ve then been the basis of a sequel.  Or focus on Parallax and Oa, while planting the threat of Hammond for the sequel.  Instead, we get Parallax built up as the most evil unstoppable thing ever, before being beaten by Hal, on his own, in about five minutes.   It just could’ve been so much more if it hadn’t been trying to juggle the two villains and settings.

Sinestro likewise, is frustrating.   Mark Strong absolutely nails the part of Sinestro from the current run of the comics, but again because the time spent on Oa is so brief, he doesn’t get any kind of chance to build up a relationship with Hal.  He gets a few good scenes, but its a waste of a brilliant character and actor when again, he could’ve been used so much more.  Even if he’d turned up on Earth to help Hal with Parallax after he’d left Oa, that could’ve worked well.  Allowing him to continue Hal’s training and aid him in the final battle.   It also would have allowed them to sow more seeds for his eventual fall.  Instead we get a brief scene during the end credits of Sinestro donning a yellow ring, for no reason whatsoever.  Throughout the whole film he’s played as loyal to the Corps, and only wanting the ring as a more effective weapon against Parallax.  Hal then goes on to prove Willpower is superior (again, beating Parallax solo in about 5 minutes).  So what’s Sinestro’s reason for taking the ring?   If there is a sequel film, it has a lot of ground to cover to make this make sense.  Something this first film should have been doing.   Sinestro’s turn as a villain would have a lot more impact if he and Hal actually had built up a relationship first.  Again the film just trying to do too much, instead of being focused.

All of which is sounding incredibly negative, and I suppose it is.  But it does all boil down to the film being a missed opportunity.   There were lots of different things being juggled, and the result was none of them being done particular justice.  However on a basic summer blockbuster level the film worked.  The CGI looked incredibly good.  Ryan Reynolds, as expected, was great as Hal Jordan and there was enough action to keep me entertained throughout.   I just wish the film had been able to rise up that extra level.  Especially in a summer that’s already given us Thor and X-Men First Class, both of which I’d probably rate higher than Green Lantern.  X-Men First Class I absolutely adored, and in my opinion absolutely deserves all the high ratings and critical acclaim its been garnering.  Thor meanwhile, juggled similar concepts to Green Lantern in the form of Asgard and Earth, and managed to do it with a focus and heart that Green Lantern lacked.  Thor’s script had that extra sparkle in the humour and the way it balanced its ideas that Green Lantern couldn’t really match.  Perhaps again by being a bit more focused in its villains, rather than trying to setup too much at once.

At the end of the day, I did come out of the film happy.  And recent news would have the studio still continuing with plans for a sequel which I’m very happy about, as I feel a sequel really could try and do something special with this franchise.  It was a shame the film didn’t quite live up to its potential but it was still fun, and it was nice to see the Corps on the big screen.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Again, I’m incredibly impressed by how good this film looks.  In a summer promising Thor, Transformers, Green Lantern and Pirates of the Carribean, this is slipping under the radar, and I have to agree with those sites who are already wondering if it could shape up to be the surprise hit of the year.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As with the Wondercon footage, this is a massive step up from that first trailer, again playing on the sci-fi epic nature of the Corps, which is really helping this film stand out.  There’s also a few fantastic glimpses for fans, with the Sinestro Corps logo making an appearance (although presumably more in its general role as a symbol of fear), and our first look at a Guardian.  We also get a little more of the plot teased, with Hal being specifically chosen in order to defeat Parallax, and a better tease of the Hector Hammond plot.

I really can’t wait for this now.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I think amongst other things, its the fact that they’ve made it a World War 2 film.  This helps it stand out amongst all the modern world-set superhero films we’ve had over the last several years.  Its also got a good cast with Chris Evans in his second Marvel superhero role and Hugo Weaving who’s always reliable as a villain.

While the Merry Marvel Marketing Machine will doubtless now shift to Thor in a big way (and I assume the reason for this trailer coming out is that it’ll be attached to Thor), Captain America is the film I think could do the better business.

I must admit, from the extended preview that appeared earlier, I wasn’t too sure about this film, but the teaser trailer’s got me much more excited.

There’s certainly no arguing with the quality of the talent working on the film (still can’t quite believe Kenneth Branagh’s directed it), and the trailer looks pretty action packed. I’ve always believed that Thor as a character would be a bit of a hard sell to the general movie audiences, but this is looking like fun.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I think I’d best describe my reaction as “cautiously hopeful”.  In honest, I think a lot of the CGI isn’t entirely working for me, but then, like all trailers, this will be based on unfinished effects, so I’d expect them to be sharpened up a bit prior to release, but at the moment I think aspects look a little cartoony.

As trailers go, it introduces everything well.  Hal’s quickly established as the hotshot fighter pilot, before things switch to the more outlandish intergalactic worlds of the Green Lanterns.  Ryan Reynolds still stands out as a great piece of casting, and I think if they manage to hit the “Iron Man meets Star Wars” vibe dead on, it could work very well.

My only reservation is that I don’t quite get that “Oh wow, this is going to rock!” vibe that the early Iron Man trailers gave me.  Although admittedly, that could easily be because I’m more invested in Green Lantern than I was in Iron Man at the time, so as a fanboy, I’m going to be harder to please, but I just don’t get that same “they’ve nailed it” feeling.  I still think the intergalactic craziness will make this a harder sell to the general audience than Iron Man’s (and Batman’s) more grounded adventures.

That said, there’s obviously a lot of attention to detail going into things here.  The brief glimpses of Oa and various familiar Lanterns (Tomar Re, Kilowog, Sinestro) look great, and the cast as a whole looks well put together.  And I loved the quick shot of Hal knocking down those guys with the green fist.  Hopefully we’ll see a lot of great ring constructs in the film.

I have to admit, my gut reaction is that I’m not sure.  Admittedly, this is only a static, partial shot on a magazine cover, so of course this could all change when we get our first proper footage, but to be honest, I’ve never really understood why they felt the costume had to be all CG in the first place.  It just sounds needlessly expensive to me, versus making a physical suit.

Heck, they made physical Iron Man armour for those  movies and there’s probably a stronger argument for them being CGI-only.

Having said all that, the CGI should help underline that the costume is a ring construct, which could make for interesting visuals.

As for the costume in this picture, I’m really not sure.  Its instantly recognisable, but I’m not sure about the energy lines which cover the suit (although again, in motion they may help play with the fact the suit is a construct itself).  The mask also brings more to mind Parallax than Hal Jordan, but that’s just being a fanboy.  To be honest, its hard to really tell from this one picture.

So overall, not sure, but I’ll wait until we see proper footage.  That’s usually where movie costumes shine when under proper lighting and the like.

And that’s a great cast list too

A-team Official Trailer

“They are the the best, and they specialise in the ridiculous”.  Love it